Convergence
by AccioMidnight
Summary: Hermione and Draco have been friends for years, but with the Triwizard Tournament, Viktor Krum, and a threat unknown, can their friendship last another year? Sequel to Coincidences
1. Chapter 1

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"_So_- have you heard from Sirius lately?"

Hermione could have smacked Ron for being so impatient but she kept her feelings to herself. He had almost mentioned Sirius in front of Ginny earlier but she'd stopped him. The only people who knew about Sirius were Professor Dumbledore, themselves, and Draco. It was a good thing Harry was much more discreet about these types of things or else the whole world might know.

"Yeah, twice. He sounds okay. I wrote to him yesterday. He might write back while I'm here." said Harry, and Hermione looked around to make sure no one else at the dinner table had suddenly become curious of the silence that engulfed their end of the table. Everyone was still immersed in their conversations, whether they were about the Ministry or Gringotts or Quidditch. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and listened as Harry and Ron joined the twins and Charlie in their heated debate about the match.

Hermione blanched at the idea of being surrounded by Quidditch for five straight days. Looking around, she noted that she was the only one who would mind if the match did go on for that long. Draco probably wouldn't mind it either, as his letters were always much longer when Quidditch was involved. Ever since he made his house team in second year, he'd been very willing to discuss strategy with her- as long as they never brought up Gryffindor. It was tough, being best friends with Seekers from opposite teams, but her house pride always won out in the end. She really couldn't help it. She stood up to help Mrs. Weasley and Ginny pack up the minuscule leftovers, but she was shooed away and told to get to bed. She scurried up to Ginny's room and fell asleep before Ginny came back.

-oOo-

The hike up to the portkey was terrible. At first, she had been excited to take a nice hike through unfamiliar trails but the hills quickly crushed any excitement she had. The twins hung back when they noticed she had started to fall behind, which she thought was awfully thoughtful of them, until her pack started getting lighter and lighter and began to lift her up into the air. The others in front didn't notice because they were too busy trying to keep up with Mr. Weasley. It took two threats and a kick to George's head to make the twins remove whatever sticker they'd stuck to her. They called them Skyward Stickies and Hermione couldn't help but think they were brilliant pieces of magic. Molly was right; the twins were wasting their potential on silly prank products.

When they finally reached the portkey, Hermione felt a rush of excitement. Even if Quidditch wasn't really her thing, this would be a great chance to see many diverse wizards and their cultures. Plus, she'd be able to see Draco, who had owled her earlier in the summer and told her he was going to be there. She hadn't seen him since school ended and the summers were always far too long to go without seeing her best friend, in her opinion. Obviously, they couldn't just visit each other's homes. The sharp sting she had felt when she realized Draco would never be able to reveal their friendship had dulled to a tiny pang of hurt over the years. It wasn't his fault his parents were so prejudiced. Draco himself was still a prejudiced bigot, just not to her, and really, that was what mattered. She was set on proving herself to him- though he kept saying she didn't need to- just as much as to the rest of the world. Maybe even a little more.

She squeezed in between Harry and Fred to put her finger on the ratty old boot that was their portkey to the World Cup. She'd read about portkeys but all the books had said that the best way to learn about one was to use it. All around her, her friends screamed as the pull at their navels tightened and yanked them away. Before she knew it, she was hitting the ground and a deep voice said, "Seven past five from Stoatshead Hill."

-oOo-

Hermione had such a horrible headache after they set up the tents that she was quite tempted to use magic to help ease it. It throbbed rhythmically as she dragged her feet across the dirt while they walked through the great crowds of campers. The saucepan in her hands felt much heavier than it really was. The cheering echoing from the patch of the Irish's fan's tents wasn't helping either.

"Harry! Ron! Hermione!"

Hermione said hello to Seamus, Seamus' mother, and Dean. It was quite strange seeing Seamus and Dean's faces painted white and green, but she supposed she'd have paint on her face too, somehow, by the end of the match. After all, Fred and George had a suspicious looking bottle of something green in each of their packs. She commended Dean's skill with a paintbrush when she noticed the giant leprechaun on a board hanging outside their tent.

"Thanks, Hermione. I've been practicing drawing more magical stuff lately."

"Like what?"

"Just creatures really. It's a little difficult because all I've got are books to go off. I hope Hagrid'll have something really neat I could draw when we get back to school."

"I just hope whatever he has is legal." Hermione joked and they both laughed. Hagrid had a tendency to choose creatures that probably weren't the most appropriate for school age students. Or anyone other than an expert.

The trio said goodbye to Seamus and Dean in a good mood. The already monumental excitement in the air was building steadily as the starting time for the Cup neared.

Bulgarian campsites were _covered _in posters of some bloke named Krum. Hermione thought it was a bit unfair to the other Bulgarian players, to have just one being so blatantly favored. It took teamwork to get this far.

They finally reached the tap but there was a bit of a wait. Hermione giggled at the sight of the man in front of them, who was dressed in a floral print nightgown and quite protective of it. The other man was waving about a pair of trousers.

"Just put them on, Archie, there's a good chap. You can't walk around like that, the Muggle at the gate's already getting suspicious-"

"I bought this in a Muggle shop. Muggle's wear them." The old man said stubbornly.

Hermione dropped the saucepan and covered her mouth to stifle her laughs. Harry and Ron were giving her incredulous stares, but she just couldn't help it.

"Muggle _women _wear them, Archie, not the men, they wear these."

"I'm not putting them on, I like a healthy breeze 'round my privates, thanks."

A squeal escaped through her hands and she gave up. She ran away from the water queue and laughed loudly behind someone's tent. Her headache was gone but her ribcage was screaming at her to stop laughing. But- _a healthy breeze- _she snorted and laughed some more.

"What's so funny, Granger?" A snooty voice cut through her laughs.

Hermione stopped laughing and crossed her arms. "Nothing you'd understand, _Parkinson._"

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AN: Welcome back! Updates will be every Friday, and please review and let me know what you think :)


	2. Chapter 2

Draco followed his parents into the Top Box feeling good-

"…ah, and here's Lucius!"

-until the Minister of Magic noticed them. After that, he felt _great._

His mother's grip on his shoulder tightened minutely as they slid into the row. He understood why. Draco was on fairly thin ice when it came to the three in front of him. Hermione's fingers fidgeted around the sleeves of her shirt to distract herself but Harry held his gaze. Ron was unashamedly glaring at Lucius. Ever since rumors started floating about the school about Draco's involvement with the whole Chamber of Secrets thing, Draco had had to be more careful than ever. He wasn't sure if his father had heard the rumors or not, but either way, it cut things a bit too close for comfort, especially back then in second year. Father had been beside himself for weeks after Harry freed Dobby. He didn't really want to find out what his father would do if he ever found out Draco had told Harry about how Dobby was treated at home- not to mention any of the other things he might have let slip on his less than pleasant adventures with the Gryffindors.

Once in third year, Hermione had called him Damage Control Draco. He felt it was a rather apt title, considering all the work he went through to cover up a majority of his lies. It was _exhausting. _He was always in need of an alibi and was just lucky enough to have friends who would lie for him without asking any questions.

"Good lord, Arthur, what did you have to sell to get seats in the Top Box? Surely your house wouldn't have fetched this much?"

Draco looked from his father to Mr. Weasley, who was turning quite red in the ears. He inwardly winced because it was a good thing the Minister hadn't heard his father's comment. He outwardly winced because Narcissa's nails began to dig into his shoulder as the staring match continued between the men. Draco knew the last thing his mother wanted right now was a scene.

"Lucius has just given a very generous contribution to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries," (_Like he does every year, _Draco thought) "Arthur. He's here as my guest."

"How- how nice."

It was then that Draco noticed how his father was looking at Hermione. Undisguised disgust. Luckily, Hermione stared right back instead of shrinking down. Draco bit the inside of his cheek. Surely Father wouldn't say anything in front of the Minister about Hermione. He let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding when his father kept walking down the row. His mother's grip finally softened and Draco sent Hermione the smallest of nods her way before he followed his father.

There were few things that could compare to watching professional Quidditch, Draco thought, as the Bulgarian mascots took the field. While his mother had certainly been scandalized when they walked onto the field, Draco didn't think much about it because their hair was quite pretty. Narcissa's hand darted over his eyes, but the Veela also had such nice voices- he had a strange urge to move his mother's hand and stand up to see better. Before he could follow through with that, the Veela went off the field and Narcissa put her hand back in her lap. The sneer fixed on her face told Draco not to test her by trying to see the Veela again.

-oOo-

The grip on his arm doubled when another shriek filled the air. Their pace doubled and Draco had a hard time keeping up with his father's hurried strides.

"You will stay here," Lucius demanded as soon as they reached the woods, "You will not leave this place. You will wait for me."

"Father-" There was another scream.

Lucius gave him a good pat on the shoulder, "_Draco_, do as I say." and he disapparated.

Draco stood rooted in his place as the screams came closer and closer. _Muggles. _

The Cup had been an amazing experience to have, but Draco really did not want to be there anymore. He should have left with his mother right after the match. Something very wrong was happening and whatever it was, it was heading straight through the campsite. Aurors were running by at incredible speeds to get to the people who were torturing the Muggles, but there were still too many people trying to run away. Draco scooted back against the tree he was hiding behind. The Muggle woman screeched again. The people with the masks- those were Death Eater masks. He wasn't stupid. He knew where his father was going. Draco felt quite torn, and not for the first time in his life.

_Hermione._

The Death Eaters were going after Muggles, but who was to stop them from having the same _fun_ with Muggleborns?

A voice in his head screamed at him to stay where he was but another one, the one that had gotten him into far too many sticky situations, was telling him to go find Hermione and make sure she was out of the line of fire. Eventually, he didn't have to decide.

"What happened?" Hermione's voice echoed in the darkness. He spun around and found Ron sprawled out on the ground.

"Tripped over a tree root."

Draco moved swiftly around the tree as he asked, "What are you _doing_ here?"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione seemed quite surprised to find him in the wood, but he had no time to answer their questions.

He looked to Harry and Ron. "Get Hermione out of here, now-"

"Why?" Harry demanded.

"They're after Muggles-"

Ron interrupted him pointedly, "Hermione's a witch-"

"Obviously-" Draco sighed in annoyance, "Don't you get it? If you think they can't spot her as a Muggleborn, stay here. They won't _care."_

A loud bang hit a nearby tree. They all flinched.

Draco rolled his eyes. "I need to stay here, but you all need to get somewhere else _now_. My Father will be-"

Harry's green eyes narrowed behind his glasses, "Is he out there? Is he one of them?"

Draco scoffed, "Like I'll answer that, Potter."

Hermione looked decidedly uncomfortable, "Draco, come with us."

He shook his head. "I can't go."

Another blast shook the ground.

As Hermione ran off behind her other friends, Draco swallowed and made sure their tracks couldn't be traced with a swipe of his wand.

The Ministry would hardly care about underage magic at a time like this.

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AN: Sorry this is late! College is much crazier than I thought it would be. Next chapter will be better paced for sure.


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